Tag: fraud

Claims of US mail-in ballot fraud threaten confidence in US presidential elections

  by Louis BAUDOIN Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The allegations of potential voter fraud look plausible, featuring US mail-in ballots addressed to dead people or former residents. But the claims posted on social media are inaccurate, and threaten to undermine confidence in the presidential election. “Strange how this keeps happening,” Donald Trump Jr, son of the president, wrote in a tweet sharing a photo of eight mail-in ballots allegedly sent in […]

Daimler strikes $2.2 bn diesel settlements in US

BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Daimler has approved settlements worth $2.2 billion over emissions cheating software in its diesel vehicles in the US, the German carmaker said Thursday. The company has “reached an agreement in principle with various US authorities to settle civil and environmental claims regarding emission control systems of approximately 250,000 diesel passenger cars and vans in the United States,” it said in a statement. The agreement includes $1.5 billion to be paid to US […]

Wirecard ex-CEO, board members arrested for fraud: German prosecutor

MUNICH, Germany (AFP) — German prosecutors said Wednesday they have arrested the former chief executive and two board members of Wirecard for “commercial fraud”, saying investigations show that trickery was already happening in 2015. The widening probe suggests that banks in Germany and Japan as well as other investors were conned into providing funds of up to 3.2 billion euros ($3.7 billion) to Wirecard, said prosecutors, adding that the sums are now “very likely lost […]

France uncovers ‘massive fraud’ of coronavirus wage payouts

  PARIS, France (AFP) — The Paris prosecutor’s office said Friday that it was investigating “massive fraud” across France by people falsely claiming temporary wage assistance for employees laid off during the coronavirus lockdown. As the crisis hit, the government quickly introduced a system to pay around 84 percent of net salary for people no longer able to work. Thousands of firms applied for the payments, allowing millions of people to avoid a sudden drop […]

Huawei exec goes to Canada court to fight US extradition

by Michel COMTE Agence France-Presse Vancouver, Canada (AFP) — A senior Huawei executive whose arrest in Vancouver led to a breakdown in Canada-China relations headed to court on Monday to fight extradition to the United States. Meng Wanzhou, the company’s chief financial officer and eldest daughter of its founder Ren Zhengfei, is wanted by US authorities for alleged fraud. In order to secure her freedom, the “princess of Huawei” must convince a Canadian judge that […]

Immigration bureau deports more than 300 Chinese nationals nabbed for telecom fraud

(Eagle News) – More than 300 Chinese nationals allegedly involved in telecommunications fraud are set to be deported today, Thursday, Nov. 13, according to the Bureau of Immigration (BI). The bureau said that the Chinese nationals to be deported were arrested in a raid at an office of the Millenium building where they were found to be allegedly conducting scamming operations last month. BI Intelligence chief Fortunato Manahan Jr. said that the members of the […]

Fiat Chrysler to pay $650 mn over software misuse: report

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Fiat Chrysler has agreed to pay nearly $650 million to resolve litigation over its use of illegal engine-control software on diesel vehicles that produced false results in emissions tests, The New York Times reported Wednesday. The automaker will pay $305 million in penalties to the federal government and California, which also brought suit, the NYT said, citing two unidentified sources who were briefed on the issue. It said the […]

‘Ababis’ and ‘Star Wnrs’: Knockoffs thrive in China e-commerce

by Ludovic EHRET Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — Sneakers on a popular Chinese e-commerce platform look like Adidas, but are branded “Ababis”. Underwear resembling Calvin Klein are called “Caiwen Kani”. Toys with an uncanny resemblance to a certain blockbuster movie franchise opt for “Star Wnrs”. As China held its massive annual “Singles Day” online sales event on Sunday, shoppers could still find cheap imitations on Alibaba’s Taobao app despite the company’s efforts to […]

US regulators charge Tesla CEO Elon Musk with fraud

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday charged Tesla CEO Elon Musk with securities fraud, alleging he misled investors last month in tweets about taking the company private. Musk tweeted August 7 that he had “secured” funding to privatize the electric automaker at $420 a share, causing a brief spike in Tesla’s share price. The SEC said Musk’s statements on Twitter were “false and misleading” and that he had […]

Two Trump lieutenants found guilty, president implicated

  by Laura Bonilla Cal / with Will Dunlop in Alexandria and Andrew Beatty in Washington Agence France Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Donald Trump stood accused of conspiring to commit campaign finance fraud and two of his closest aides faced jail time Tuesday, after court proceedings delivered a legal and political one-two punch to his embattled presidency. In a drama that played out simultaneously across two US cities, a court found one […]

Alleged fake victim of Paris attacks faces fraud charge

PARIS, France (AFP) – A 32-year-old woman appeared in court in France on Wednesday accused of fraud after allegedly falsely claiming to be a victim of the Paris jihadist attacks. The woman had claimed to have been shot in the elbow or thumb, according to different accounts, during the attacks in which 130 people died and hundreds more were wounded at the national stadium and Paris nightspots on November 13, 2015. She said that two […]

‘Panama Papers’ law firm shuts down operations

PANAMA CITY (AFP) — The law firm at the heart of the “Panama Papers” global tax evasion scandal that brought down two world leaders announced Wednesday it would shut down operations, citing negative press and what it called unwarranted action by authorities. “Reputational deterioration, the media campaign, the financial consequences and irregular actions by some Panamanian authorities have caused irreparable damage, resulting in the total ceasing of public operations at the end of this month,” […]